


Adios Ke Aloha

by caliecat



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Flash Fic, Future Fic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-17
Updated: 2011-04-17
Packaged: 2017-10-18 04:54:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/185250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caliecat/pseuds/caliecat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny says goodbye.  <i>Note: Reference to off-screen character death.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Adios Ke Aloha

Danny slips on the slimy algae shrouding the jumble of wet boulders and windmills his free arm, wavering wildly until he regains his balance. The rocks are jagged and uneven, hard to grip with bare feet. Seeking a more solid perch, he shifts to the side and then curses when he lands on a broken shell, the sharp edges biting into his tender sole.

Three more careful steps bring him to the edge of the jetty. He peers down to gauge the depth and direction of the swirling currents. The crashing waves pepper his face with sea spray. He licks the salt from his lips and clears his eyes with a trembling hand. The position is perfect, all he has to do now is wait. He plants his feet on two of the flatter rocks and tries to relax.

This is the last place on earth he wants to be. But Steve insisted and so here he is.

Halfway to the horizon a boat heads to shore, white sails glowing in the last rays of sunlight. He follows it as it tacks toward land, imagining a happy couple ending a day on the water, filled with familiar pleasures and new discoveries, eager to return to the warmth and comfort of home. Maybe grill a couple of steaks, share a decent bottle of wine and drink in the beauty of another perfect sunset.

And then later, tumble down together onto cool crisp sheets, the air heavy with the sound and scent of the sea and the sharp joy of anticipation, nothing but the two of them in their own private world....

His thoughts release a flood of memories, both happy and bittersweet. Before they sweep him under he turns away and tips his head back to watch the gulls wheel and shriek overhead, returning home for their own evening meal. Daylight is fading as the first blush of color stains the sky. Behind him in the rustling trees, the frogs sing their nightly chorus, the rhythm a soothing counterpoint to the pounding of his heart.

The breeze picks up and he catches the intoxicating perfume of the plumeria behind their house. He remembers the year they were planted, the endless hours of sweaty, backbreaking work ripping out the tangled mass of overgrown brush and replacing it with the neat row of shrubs. Grace helped select them, falling in love with the exotic names like Aztec Gold and Pacific Pearl and insisting that only the sweetest-smelling varieties deserved a home in their garden.

She was the one who handpicked each flower for their ceremony after facing both of them down, hands on her hips and a stubborn scowl on her face, sternly demanding  that "you _have_ to have flowers at a wedding, you just _have_ to!" until they collapsed with helpless laughter, their token resistance melting like shave ice on a hot day.

And when it was her turn to walk down the makeshift aisle she was bursting with pride, carefully placing one foot in front of the other like she practiced for hours, scattering fragrant clouds of petals left and right and wearing one perfect pink blossom in her hair so she could "look like a Hawaiian princess for you and Steve." His heart clenches at the memory of her innocence and he wishes for the thousandth time that he could have bottled it up and saved it forever.

Ah, but they all grow old eventually, don't they, and time only runs in one direction.

Something tickles his toes and he looks down to see a crab scuttle over his foot, seeking shelter before darkness falls. There's a hint of coolness in the air as dusk approaches. The sky is now ablaze with color, criss-crossed by bands of purple, pink, red and gold.

An old phrase rushes back to him: _Red sky at night, sailor's delight._ He hears Steve's voice whisper it in his ear, low and warm and comforting, and shivers in response, pulling in a shaky breath and reaching for a sense of calm he is nowhere close to achieving.

The sun is an orange ball sinking inexorably toward the horizon. He waits patiently for his cue, his knee aching in protest at the forced inactivity. Maybe he will still need a knee replacement one day but the thought of facing that after this is chilling. He rolls his shoulders to ease the tension in his back and shifts his grip on the vase locked into the crook of his arm.

The ceramic is cool under the pad of his finger. He traces the faint indentations of the scrollwork and tries to remember when they bought this. Thailand or Singapore, wasn't it, and what, maybe ten, fifteen years ago? At some point time flows faster and faster, gathering speed like the incoming tide after a Pacific storm, and it becomes harder to keep track of the passing years.

Steve fell in love with the intricate design the minute he saw it in the shop's window. He swore it conveyed the ultimate truth, something profound and incomprehensible about ying and yang and souls and heaven. Danny always humored him, pretending to agree but never seeing anything other than abstract figures—animal shapes, or are they trees?—against the serene blue and green background.

He shakes his head and sighs, thinking of the millions of compromises they both made, important and trivial, each and every one worth it for what they gained in return.

The sun drops lower and lower until it is swallowed up by the ocean, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

It's time.

He fumbles the lid off the vase and tucks it into his pocket, then hesitates. It's ridiculous, he's on a private beach without a soul in sight, yet he still feels naked and vulnerable high atop the rocks thirty feet from shore. His mouth is dry as a desert as he glances around nervously, but the only witness is a sea turtle lumbering across the sand.

If Steve were here, he'd tell Danny to man up and get the job done. "Can you focus?" he would say, annoyed, like he had a hundred times before, with the puzzled frown Danny secretly found so irresistible he encouraged its appearance whenever possible. If Steve were here....

Then reality slams into him and he nearly staggers under its force. The pain is there, a beast submerged beneath the surface clawing for his heart, but he isn't ready to face it yet. First he has a mission to complete.

One more deep breath and then he turns his back to the wind, faces the ocean and in one smooth motion flings out his arm and flicks his wrist to let the contents of the vase fly free. The ashes catch on the breeze, twirling and dipping in an aerial ballet until they slowly settle onto the water.

Before they drift away he reaches deep into his pocket and pulls out a handful of plumeria blossoms. He crushes them to his nose, closing his eyes and inhaling their sweet fragrance, then tosses them on top of the ashes. They swirl together, the pastel petals bobbing on the waves, until the ebbing tide carries them past the end of the jetty.

Soon they will be lost to him forever. He has to hurry now.

The words echo in his head but die on his tongue. He knows he needs to say them aloud to make them real. Steve deserves that. _They_ deserve that. But it's the hardest thing he's ever had to do.

He clears his throat, swallows past what feels like cut glass and tries again.

"Goodbye, my love," he says, steady and clear. The only answer is the cry of a solitary bird circling overhead.

The plumeria are still visible in the dying light, shining bright against the dark water. He stands motionless, a silent witness as he tracks their steady progress toward the open sea. Toward Steve's first love.

But not his greatest. Of that, Danny never had any doubt.

He smiles through his tears and heads toward home, a trail of blossoms fluttering in his wake.

**Author's Note:**

> Adios Ke Aloha translates as "Goodbye My Love" and was composed by Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku II of Hawaii in the 1870s. More history and the lyrics can be found [here at wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_and_works_by_Leleiohoku)


End file.
